Posts tagged “portrait”

I’ve sucked with getting these on my blog as of late, but oh well. They make it here eventually. Anyway, I really like(d) what I did with this shot. I liked the original shot, but I think the surreal effect I gave to it is pretty dope. I don’t think I’ve encountered anyone who likes it as much as I do, but we all have our personal favorites, and this is one of mine.

Approximately halfway through the month and this project, I feel this is one of my stronger photos – both technically and creatively. I’m pleased that I continue to stretch the boundaries of the theme, each and every day. Again, I didn’t want to merely photography my phone, and I thought this was a good creative direction to go in. This photo required a bit more setup and proper execution than you may think, so stick with me for a second.

Photographing the phone was the easy part. I had my dSLR on a tripod, and I had it set to trigger by remote. By trial-and-error, I figured out how far I needed to have the phone from my camera, and how far I needed to be from the phone to fit my face within the screen. Hmm…I guess that wasn’t as easy as I thought. Anyway, once I started shooting, I thought the overall photo looked pretty flat. The iPhone 4S camera, while amazing, doesn’t function at its best in poor lighting. So, the picture of me on the screen was too dim and grainy. Opening up the blinds and allowing in more light helped, but it still wasn’t to my satisfaction. Additionally, while my dSLR was able to find focus easily, I struggled to get a decent picture of myself showing on the phone. I wasn’t able to get the phone to focus properly. I was about to scrap the idea, when I decided that if I was better lit, the photo would be better. So I set up a light off-camera (camera left) that would light me up better for the iPhone photo. A few dozen trial-and-error shots later, and I came up with this. Not my best facial expression, but after dozens of shots that were scrapped due to lack of focus, odd positioning of the phone within the frame, and poor lighting, I had to keep this one after achieving good results in all 3 of those categories.

The best thing about this photo, for me, is that there are no Photoshop tricks here. I did something similar to this before – where I photographed myself inside my phone – but that one was easy. I just took a separate image of myself and inserted it into the screen space on my iPhone via Photoshop. This was shot just as it looks, and required proper spacing, lighting, timing, technical expertise, a little luck, and PATIENCE.

Upon approaching The Lincoln Center plaza during Fashion Week, I quickly learned that the show outside is just as entertaining as the one inside. I’m pretty sure that New York City is a place where people want to be seen, and what bigger stage to be seen than Fashion Week? Fashionistas from around the world pack into this one small area for an entire week, wearing the most lavish and extravagant outfits they could find in their closets.

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week S/S 2012 was not only my first fashion week, but it was my first time in NYC as well. I’ve been all over this country – LA, Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, Phoenix, Las Vegas – but NYC and Miami have eluded me. Arriving in New York, my focus was to make sure that I was prepared for the runway shows and presentations. I was mentally ill-equipped for what I would see during my down time.

I’m sorry, but if someone steps on THOSE shoes, killing the offender is a justifiable reaction. I’m just saying. lol

The next time I return to New York for fashion week, now that I know what to expect, I will put much more emphasis on my street photography. This is a fraction of what I got, but what I got is a fraction of what I saw. I need to get enough street portraits to last me a few dozen blogs.

I like the look on the young lady above, particularly that piece around her neck.

The woman above reminds me of an older version of Krista, the winner of America’s Next Top Model a couple seasons ago. That hat is like a church hat on Super Mario mushrooms. lol I’ve also found myself wondering how I look in the photo that the man behind her is taking.

I did a blog on the young lady pictured above! Check it here ——> https://michaellacombe.wordpress.com/2011/10/01/mercedes-benz-fashion-week-ss-2012-caught-in-a-crowd/

Another common phenomena at fashion week is celebrity sightings. I saw more celebrities in my few days at fashion week than I did during my entire 2 years living in California. Granted, that’s an easy number to top since the only “celeb” I saw in Cali was Cornel West when I went to his book signing. I didn’t always have a camera ready, but I was still able to capture a few celebs during my time in NYC. Again, the next time I go, I’ll know to be ready at all times. I’m mad that I missed opportunities to photograph the likes of Lindsey Lohan, Susan Sarandon, Tim Gunn, and others. Anyway, here’s a few that I DID get…

Miss J from America’s Next Top Model.

Uber fine model, Selita Ebanks. Mmm. Mmm. Mmm.

Object of my thirst that no Gatorade can quench, celeb stylist June Ambrose.

I had all kinds of hilarious insult-captions, but I’ll behave. Omarion. lol

Husband of the star of “Lala’s Full Court Life,” Carmelo Anthony. I think he plays a sport, too. Badminton maybe? 🙂

Philadelphia 76ers forward, Andre Iguodala. Are they even called the 76ers anymore? They’re officially just the “Sixers” now, right? When I saw him walk into the show I was photographing, I tweeted him asking if it was him that had walked in, and he actually responded. He also (obviously) posed for one of these pictures. NICE! Props to Iggy!

And last but not least, one of the most-hated women worldwide, Kim Humphries. What? She’s not married anymore? News to me. Well I guess it’s Kim Kardashian, then. Like her or not, this photograph was a huge score for me. While the reason for her fame may be … non-existent … her fame itself is undeniable. Photographing Kim K was one of my biggest wins during all of fashion week.

On that note, my friends, my coverage of #MBFW is finally at an end. It’s been real! I hope you all have enjoyed my coverage a fraction as much as I enjoyed living and chronicling it.